It’s rare for me to comment on in flight entertainment and internet access on aircraft because A) it doesn’t interest me that much and B) these developments seem fractured at best. 

There isn’t much harmony between IFE offerings between various airlines.  Everyone has their own system and their own content and controls it in their own way.  The differences range from portable media players to LiveTV to offerings that approach what you might be able to get on cable TV.   Some airlines charge a lot for it, some charge a little and some don’t charge for it depending the fare you’re traveling on.  It’s terribly mixed up and in the United States, you never know what you might be able to access from one flight to another.  Who wants to make plans for that?

Internet access is a bit different in that most airlines are adopting the GoGo system (although Southwest has adopted Row44’s offering) but even though the system is (mostly) consistent, you still don’t know what aircraft it will be on in many cases and it certainly isn’t something one plans on having available. 

The recent conversation about JetStar offering iPad units for rental and IFE got me to thinking about what’s wrong with IFE and internet access on aircraft in the US. 

Value.

The pricing for many of these options doesn’t really strike me as being of real value.  Most often, content is priced on a per flight basis and while that seems like value, it really isn’t.  I wonder if more revenue could be generated if airlines would get over their fears of earning money and change the value proposition.  Charge by the show instead. 

In other words, follow an iTunes model instead of an “all in model”.  Allow people to buy a movie for viewing for $2.99 or a TV show for $0.99.  Give them a rational a la carte option and I suspect on shorter duration flights, you’ll earn more revenue from people wanting a diversion for a price that is appropriate for the time they are on the aircraft.  Those a la carte pricings will also make “all in” package seem like more of a value the longer the flight is.  In other words, concentrate on the “take” per flight and less on recovering fixed “costs” per flight.  The truth is, the more people use it, the more they will use it in the future. 

Internet access seems like a “value” at first glance on most aircraft.   Originally priced from $10 to $12 per flight, GoGo InFlight is now offering packages that range from $4.95 per 1.5 hour flight to $12.95 for flights over 3 hours in duration.  That’s a step in the right direction but what I want (and what I suspect people want) is the option to just buy “time” no matter what the length of the flight is.  Few people plan to use their “service” for 3 or more hours on aircraft.  Offer them the ability to do “business” for 1.5 hours for $5.00 and I think you’ll see the use rates skyrocket.

The thing is, anytime someone doesn’t use these services on a  flight, you’ve lost a revenue opportunity you’ll never get back.  More flexibility in both access and price means a more attractive set of options for what is a widely varied group of people traveling any one day. 

When iTunes began as a store for music, music labels were horrified at sellings songs for just $0.99 a song.  Until they saw the revenue streams that developed.  Once they saw the use rate go up, they actually argued with Apple to offer more diverse pricing opportunities.  Bargain rates for slow selling items and premium rates for hits.  This is a model that I think will work better on aircraft because it fits more needs and because it is a model people have become comfortable with.

Filed under: Airline Fees, Airline Service by ajax